


taking my time (with you by my side)

by silverfoxflower



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Halloween
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:22:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26815066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverfoxflower/pseuds/silverfoxflower
Summary: "These aren't for eating," he said, "They're for carving." At her confused look, he added excitedly, "I forgot it's the first year we've spent Halloween in the states! We definitely have to get two."At Raleigh's prodding, Mako selected a medium-sized, globe-round pumpkin and added it to their purchases. When she turned to see the one Raleigh had chosen, she laughed. It was possibly the lumpiest, strangest looking pumpkin on the lot."But it's so ugly!" she exclaimed as Raleigh lugged it to the front."It hascharacter," he corrected her, and smiled.
Relationships: Raleigh Becket/Mako Mori
Comments: 7
Kudos: 31
Collections: Trick or Treat Exchange 2020





	taking my time (with you by my side)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tielan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tielan/gifts).



> This story brought to you by all the autumn things I'm missing this year. Hope this fulfills your daily fluff needs tielan!!

Mako looked up at the grey October sky, foliage swirling past the car window in red and orange and yellow, bright as flames. 

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Raleigh said from the driver's seat. His voice was quiet, and his arm pressed against her own was warm. Today he was wearing a pine-green sweater, one of many that she had gifted him over the years. It still thrilled her, even now, to see the hard lines of his body enfolded in the warmth she could give him. Raleigh saw her staring and smiled. "You hungry?"

_In many ways,_ Mako thought, and nodded.

\--

They stopped at a farm stand at the side of the road that sold late-summer peaches, pecks of apples and large, orange pumpkins. Mako took her time choosing the largest, most fragrant fruit while Raleigh chatted with the old couple running the stand. At one point he popped into their farmhouse and returned with Styrofoam cups of hot cider and a swinging paper bag full of apple cider donuts. 

Mako sighed with delight as her cold fingers folded around the cider. She bowed her thanks to the couple as Raleigh pulled the warm donuts apart with his fingers, the dough steaming in the cold fall air. 

"Here," he said, pinching off a bite for her. 

She leaned forward to take it in her mouth, but Raleigh snatched it away at the last minute, laughing. Mako thumped him on the arm, and he relented, slipping the sweet bite between her teeth. Impishly, Mako swiped her tongue across the pad of Raleigh's thumb, watching his blue eyes darken with awareness. 

"No pumpkins?" The old woman packing their purchases asked. "We have a lovely crop this year." 

"We can't possibly eat all that," Mako murmured as Raleigh bent over the pile. 

"These aren't for eating," he said, "They're for carving." At her confused look, he added excitedly, "I forgot it's the first year we've spent Halloween in the states! We definitely have to get two." 

At Raleigh's prodding, Mako selected a medium-sized, globe-round pumpkin and added it to their purchases. When she turned to see the one Raleigh had chosen, she laughed. It was possibly the lumpiest, strangest looking pumpkin on the lot. 

"But it's so ugly!" she exclaimed as Raleigh lugged it to the front. 

"It has _character_ ," he corrected her, and smiled.

\--

Warm from cider and full from the donuts, they decided to take an afternoon nap before bringing their purchases into the house. The Vermont home they had rented for the month was set back from the road, surrounded by a thick grove of trees. Across two sturdy oaks in the front yard, Raleigh had strung a large hammock. 

It reminded Mako of training, sleeping outside in her clothes, pressed tight against the warm bulk of Raleigh’s chest, his arm tight around her waist and his lips in her hair. The wind rustled the leaves above them as they traded drowsy whispers before slowly succumbing to sleep.

With the frequency of their travel, it was little use to fight jetlag. At least they had each other, and Mako never had trouble falling asleep with Raleigh at her side. 

\--

Mako felt herself jostled awake as Raleigh climbed out of the hammock. 

“Damn,” he said, sliding an arm under her shoulder and another under her knees, “I was hoping to be smoother with that.” 

Mako protested sleepily as Raleigh lifted her out of the hammock, her legs swinging briefly in the air before he set her gently on the ground. 

“Can’t stay here all day,” Raleigh said, kissing the pout off of her lips, “We have work to do!” 

Mako wrapped her arms around Raleigh’s neck, deepening the kiss as her cold hands stole under the warmth of his sweater, making him flinch. 

“Okay,” Raleigh said huskily, bringing one of Mako’s hands up from his waist to press against his cheek, “Maybe a short diversion.” 

\--

Mako was still yawning as she unfurled the newspaper, spreading it over the hardwood floor of their living room and smoothing the corners with her fingertips. 

From the kitchen came clanking sounds as Raleigh cleaned up after their dinner. He walked into the living room, wiping his hands with a towel as Mako gently placed her pumpkin and his in the middle of the newspaper. 

“Now what do we do?” she asked, and Raleigh held up a finger before disappearing into the kitchen. He returned with two steak knives. “Hm,” Mako said, her hand resting lightly on her pumpkin’s top, “Kabocha-chan, ready yourself for surgery.” 

Raleigh laughed as he instructed her to cut a circle around her pumpkin’s stem, then reach inside to scoop out the guts. Mako made a face when she felt the cool, wet squish between her fingers. 

“Messy,” she said.

“Isn’t that part of the fun?” Raleigh winked. 

\--

They put the finished jack-o-lanterns on the porch as the sky deepened into dusk. Mako’s Kabocha-chan had round, slightly asymmetrical eyes and a friendly smile. Raleigh’s pumpkin had an alarmed expression and a lumpy face. They glowed as Mako lit the candles within them, sitting side-by-side in the October night.


End file.
